Nutrition Videos

Today I will present to you 10 foods that are rich in B12, so that you can have them in your diet to ensure sufficiency in this very important vitamin. Liver and kidneys of animal origin. At the outset I want to make it clear that I never recommend anyone to consume liver and kidney from any animal for the simple reason that there are many studies that have shown time and time again that they are highly laden with toxins. Especially heavy metals and dioxins are found in very high concentrations in these organs, especially in animals that graze near areas that in the past had wildfire. This practically tells us that the animals grazing in a large part of Greece are heavily burdened with dioxins and heavy metals, of which an area is filled after a fire. So I hear over and over again in the doctor's office that people have been advised by experts to consume liver to meet their nutritional needs. I don't agree with that. I think it is dangerous, because it is difficult to know if the particular liver from the animal is burdened with dioxins and heavy metals.I remind you that dioxins and heavy metals are toxins that are almost never eliminated. So liver and kidneys of animal origin are very rich in B12, but you should hardly ever eat them. Mussels. Mussels are very rich in proteins and vitamins and other nutrients and it is good to include them in your diet often. It is estimated that just 20 mussels contain enough Vitamin B12 to exceed your daily needs by 70 times! In fact, taking into account that vitamin B12 is stored in the body satisfactorily, by ensuring a meal with mussels a few times a month you have largely covered your needs in vitamin B12 from them alone. As there are many piscivores, that is people who avoid meat but eat fish and seafood, that we consider to be at risk for vitamin B12 deficiency, in case you have cut back on meat but still eat fish and seafood, don't neglect to eat clams a few times a month. Also, if you make steamed clams, this wonderful juice stays in the pot, you know that it is very rich in vitamin B12. Don't snub it! Sardines. Those of you who have watched the channel for a long time know that sardines are my favorite fish, because they are extremely rich in many nutrients and I think they are very tasty. Just 150 grams of sardines will cover your B12 needs for 5 days. Not bad for a fish that is so rich in valuable omega-3s. Calf. Beef has less vitamin B12 than sardines, so you need twice as much to meet your needs for five and a half days, which is about 200 grams. If you want to choose the beef with the highest vitamin B12 content, then choose cuts from the beef with the least possible fat, because the fat does not contain vitamin B12. Cereals fortified with vitamin B12. Common cereals, while not something I recommend eating regularly, are often fortified with vitamin B12. In other words, Vitamin B12 has been added to the preparation mixture, just like other vitamins. This ensures that people who do not eat animal foods have vitamin B12 sufficiency. One serving of cereals fortified with vitamin B12 usually covers 25 to 50% of our daily needs. Tuna fish. Of the fish, tuna is also very rich in vitamin B12, as just 100 grams of tuna covers our needs for four days. The content of vitamin B12 in white tuna, which is usually found in cans, is much lower, but still a typical can covers our needs for a day and a half. Trout. Trout I think is one of the fish that has an amazing nutrient cost ratio, which means that for very little money we get very high quality animal protein with lots of Omega 3 and vitamin D, as well as appreciable amounts of vitamin B12. Just 100 grams of trout cover our B12 needs for three days. Salmon. And salmon is rich in vitamin B12, although we should consume a little more than 100 grams to meet our daily needs, which means that it has three to four times less vitamin B12 than trout which is much cheaper and usually much safer. In a previous video I have suggested choosing salmon from Greek fish farms to avoid excessive exposure to dioxins. Dairy Products. Dairy products have a relatively decent amount of vitamin B12, since a glass of milk covers half of our daily needs and a slice of cheese on toast about 1/4. The good thing is that there are several studies that show that B12 is more easily absorbed from milk than from beef, fish and eggs. As I have said repeatedly the only dairy worth consuming for adults is live yogurt with skin, kefir and sour milk. Eggs. Eggs are a fairly misunderstood food in nutrition science, because they are one of the first foods that were made public. But while it was scientifically understood that their demonization was wrong, many people still believe that eggs are bad for health. Eggs are a complete food that is good to include in your diet, especially if you can find good quality. Just four eggs cover the daily needs of vitamin B12. When I was doing a residency in hospital pathology, about 20 years ago, I did a study documenting how often people over 70 are deficient in vitamin B12. The limit I had set as a deficiency today I would consider too low. But even so, I had observed that at least 1/4 to 1/3 of the patients coming to the hospital were significantly deficient in vitamin B12. If I did this study today with what I now consider vitamin B12 deficiency, I think I would conclude that over half of the patients were vitamin B12 deficient. Seeing as these foods that are rich in B12 are so common in most people's diets, I'm sure many of you are wondering how a deficiency can be so common. The truth is, the problem is that B12 is very difficult to absorb from the gastrointestinal system. I don't understand why nature has put so much effort into absorbing such an important vitamin, but in order to absorb appreciable amounts of B12 from food, both the stomach and the small intestine must work perfectly. Which is increasingly rare with age. So I think people who are over 50 should check and monitor their vitamin B12 closely and be prepared to make changes in their diet to meet their needs. Ideally, with the help of an expert. What is considered sufficient vitamin B12 in the body changes from specialist to specialist. If you want to hear my way of assessing the adequacy of vitamin B12 in the blood so that you know if your measurement is sufficient, you must click on the video that is now shown to my right to find out how much vitamin B12 should be in blood and how to ensure you have enough of it. Thank you very much.